The Chandigarh Police registered a case of rape against an unknown person who allegedly raped a class VIII student,a resident of Kishangarh village near Manimajra. The crime came to light when the victim gave birth to a baby girl at the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH),Sector 32,on January 1.

The doctor who delivered the victims baby informed the police on Wednesday evening. The victim is 13-and-a-half-years old. The victims father had given a complaint to the police saying that she complained of stomach ache following which she was taken to the hospital and an ultrasound revealed that she was nine months pregnant and was in labour, said Manimajra SHO Charanjit Singh.

The victims mother claimed that the entire family,including the victim,did not know that she was pregnant. Both my husband and I are labourers. We work day in,day out. I have three daughters. She (victim) had never ever shown any sign of pregnancy. She suffered from high fever a few months back and we consulted a private doctor in our village. He asked us to get her blood tests done. The blood test reports,according to that doctor,indicated typhoid, the victims mother told Newsline.

The mother added,It took a long time for her (victim) to recover from the fever. But on December 29,she started complaining of severe stomach ache after having dinner. We took her to a dispensary in Manimajra where the doctors gave her a painkiller. A few days after that,her pain worsened,so we took her to ESIC (Employees State Insurance Corporation),Ramdarbar. The doctors there conducted an ultrasound test and told us that my daughter was about to give birth to a baby. I was shocked.

Asked if it was possible not to notice a pregnancy,Dr G K Bedi of Bedi Hospital said,At times,women do not come to know that they are pregnant. In my clinic,even five to six months pregnant women are unaware of their pregnancy. Further,it depends upon the size of the baby,and 2 kg is a below average weight. It is possible that parents did not come to know about the victims pregnancy in this case.

The victims family had taken her to GMCH-32 on Wednesday where she gave birth to a baby girl at 4.20 pm. After delivering the child,the consulting doctor called the police.

Deputy Superintendent of Police (East) Vijay Kumar said,We are not ruling out the possibility that the victim is trying to save the person who raped her. Also,the victims parents can have an ulterior motive. The doctor whom the victim was consulting for stomach ache is yet to be identified and questioned. The victim cannot be questioned yet.

SHO Charanjit Singh said the victim had visited her village in Bihar in May. It is possible that she was raped by someone when she visited her hometown, he said.